PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES - United Kingdom Parliament

1111W
Written Answers
26 MARCH 2013
Written Answers
1112W
Probation
Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice
what assessment he has made of the effects of his
proposed reform of probation services on re-offending
rates for people serving fewer than 12 months. [149386]
Jeremy Wright: On 22 February the Ministry of
Justice’s consultation on plans for reforming the way in
which offenders are rehabilitated in the community
closed.
Through our proposed reforms we want to address
the fact that offenders released from custodial sentences
of less than 12 months are among the most highly
prolific offender groups. In 2010 57.6% of the short
sentenced offenders released from prison reoffended
within a year and there is currently no statutory support
for those offenders sentenced to less than 12 months in
custody.
Our proposed reforms will help reduce reoffending
by opening up rehabilitation services to a more diverse
market, using payment by results to encourage providers
to focus on outcomes, and by making the whole system
more efficient, so that we can extend rehabilitative
provision to this most prolific group of offenders.
We will respond to the consultation and bring forward
detailed plans in due course.
Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice
what assessment has been carried out to evaluate the
effect of the removal of probation trusts. [149387]
Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice’s consultation
on plans for reforming the way in which offenders are
rehabilitated in the community closed on 22 February.
We want the public sector probation service to be
organised in the most efficient manner for delivery of its
new responsibilities. The options being considered range
from fewer Trusts to a different structure altogether or
direct delivery on behalf of the Secretary of State. We
have sought consultees’ views on this important issue
and will bring forward detailed plans in due course.
Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for
Justice (1) with reference to his Department’s
consultation, Transforming Rehabilitation, whether
probation trusts, as public bodies, will be permitted to
bid, either on their own, or with partners, for
commercial contracts for the delivery of probation
services in the community under the competition plans
set out; [149607]
(2) whether probation trusts will be able to set up
special purpose vehicles, either on their own, or with
partners, to bid for commercial contracts for the
delivery of probation services in the community under
the competition plans set out; [149608]
(3) whether probation trusts will be able to set up
mutual delivery organisations to bid for commercial
contracts for the delivery of probation services in the
community under the competition plans set out;
[149609]
(4) whether probation staff who set up their own
mutual delivery organisation to bid for commercial
contracts for the delivery of probation services in the
community would have to resign from their
employment with their probation trust to take part in
the competition; [149610]
(5) where a probation trust has developed a
relationship with a partner provider, or providers, to
bid for commercial contracts for the delivery of
probation services in the community, whether those
partners will remain eligible to take part in the
proposed competitions; [149611]
(6) what advice the National Offender Management
Service has received on the legal implications of
excluding probation trusts from any competition to
deliver probation services in the community. [149612]
Jeremy Wright: We remain committed to facilitating
an open competition which allows a range of bidders to
take part in the new probation services market.
As set out in our consultation document ‘Transforming
Rehabilitation—a revolution in the way we manage
offenders’, it remains open for probation staff to put
together proposals for potential mutuals and other
alternative delivery vehicles to bid to deliver probation
services as part of future competitions.
Under our proposals we will only contract with entities
capable of bearing the financial and operational risks
associated with Payment by Results and delivering offender
services in the community. Therefore, public sector entities
will not be able to bid, as they will not be able to carry
the financial risk. Instead staff groups within trusts can
work on proposals for alternative delivery vehicles and
mutuals. The Cabinet Office’s Mutual Support Programme
is available to support probation staff to explore their
options.
Trust staff do not have to resign, as these employee-led
entities or partnerships will only be formally set up
following the conclusion of the competition, if they
have won a bid or are part of a winning bid. This is to
guarantee continuity of service in probation during the
transition to new arrangements, and also to ensure that
those public sector probation professionals who do
come together to enter the bidding process are not
disadvantaged if they are not successful.
Where a group of staff are designing and setting up a
mutual or alternative delivery vehicle with a partner
provider, clear ethical walls will need to be put in place
between the probation trust on the one hand and the
group of staff and commercial organisation on the
other, to ensure fair competition. Any partner also
looking to compete in its own right would have to
satisfy us of similar ethical walls between bids too.
The Department has taken appropriate legal advice
on the proposals in the consultation paper and will of
course comply with any obligations imposed on it by
procurement law.
The Ministry of Justice’s consultation on plans for
reforming the way in which offenders are rehabilitated
in the community closed on 22 February. We will respond
to the consultation and bring forward detailed plans in
due course.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Central America
Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State
for International Development what projects her
Department has funded in (a) Costa Rica, (b)
Honduras, (c) Nicaragua, (d) El Salvador, (e)
Guatemala, (f) Belize and (g) Panama since May
2010; and if she will make a statement. [149455]